Raffaella Petrini (born 15 January 1969) is an Italian Catholic religious sister who has served as president of the Pontifical Commission and Governorate of Vatican City State since March 2025. She was Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2021 to 2025. She is the first woman to hold those positions, two of the highest-ranking in the government. She is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist.

Biography

Raffaella Petrini was born in Rome on 15 January 1969, and graduated with a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) in Rome. She then studied at the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford (Connecticut), receiving a masters degree in organizational behavior in 2001. She entered the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in 2008, earning a licentiate 2011 and a doctorate in 2014. She was later appointed professor there and taught courses in welfare economics and the sociology of economic processes. From 2005 to 2021, Petrini worked on the staff of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...

. On 4 November 2021,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed her secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the first woman to hold that position. He later noted that she was the highest-ranking woman in the world's smallest state. On 13 July 2022, Pope Francis appointed women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops for the first time, including Petrini, Yvonne Reungoat, and María Lía Zervino. On 15 February 2025, Pope Francis named Petrini president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, effective on 1 March. She is the first woman to occupy this position. Her authority was suspended by law upon the death of Pope Francis in April 2025. His successor

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

confirmed her role on 9 May, the day after he took office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrini, Raffaella 1969 births Living people 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Female heads of government Franciscan nuns Women officials of the Roman Curia Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Presidents of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State